Apparatus and method for inserting one or more goods into a moveable cover

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for inserting one or more goods into a moving cover has a cover transport and at least one movable flap holder configured to cover a flap of the cover and to maintain the flap of the cover and the one or more movable goods to be inserted into the cover separated, during at least a part of the movement of the cover.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of copending InternationalApplication No. PCT/EP2011/057336, filed May 5, 2011, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and additionallyclaims priority from European Application No. EP 10162320.5, filed May7, 2010 and U.S. Application No. 61/332,338, filed May 7, 2010, all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of inserting goods intocovers, more specifically to a flap holder in an apparatus for insertingone or more goods into a moveable cover, for example an envelope.

In the art various approaches for inserting one or more goods into acover, such as an envelope, are known. In accordance with one approachduring the filling process an envelope is stopped and only the goods aremoved to be inserted into the envelope. The problem with this kind ofinserters is that they operate in a start/stop mode meaning that whenfilling the one or more goods the envelope needs to be stopped and,after completing the filling process, the envelope is moved out of thefilling position and a following envelope is arranged in the fillingposition and stopped again to allow filling the one or more goods intothis new envelope. The problem with this kind of inserter is that thethroughput, i.e., the number of envelopes that can be filled with one ormore goods during a predetermined period of time, for example within anhour, is limited due to the necessity of decelerating, stopping andaccelerating the envelopes during the filling process. Further, themechanical wear and stress of the respective parts of the inserter, thegoods and/or the envelopes is quite high.

Another approach for inserting one or more goods into a cover is to moveboth the one or more goods and the cover during the filling process.Such an approach is e.g. described in DE 42 05 197 A1, WO 94/27832 A1,U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,986 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,381 A, U.S. Pat. No.4,817,368 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,990 A and WO 2002/096670 A1. Thetransport directions of the one or more goods and an envelope extendparallel in the same direction, however, the filling process is suchthat the one or more goods, the envelope or both are moved angular withrespect to the transport direction towards each other. At the beginningof a filling path the envelope and the one or more goods travel side byside with the one or more goods and/or the envelope being moved angulartowards each other. Eventually, the goods and the envelope meet suchthat due to the angular movement of the goods, they are filled into theenvelope. In case filling pockets are used for each of the goods, ase.g. described in WO 94/27832 A1 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,990 A, aplurality of individual pockets are needed, which need to be returned tothe starting point so that an additional transport is needed whichincreases the number of needed parts even further as well as the costs.Yet another problem of this kind of filling process are the highkinematic forces that are applied to the envelope and the goods due tothe angular transport. Further, the necessity to provide paralleltransports for the goods and for the envelope increases the costs, forexample due to the fact that at each position respective guidings areneeded. In terms of the needed installation space, quite a lengthy setup is needed as well as additional space for placing two transports inparallel. Also the time and efforts for changing the format is high(e.g. it is needed to modify a plurality of elements of the pockets foradjustment to the new format) and, basically, these approaches are notflexible with regard to the format processed. In addition, due to themany parts that move, the operation of the device is quite noisy.

Yet another approach teaches to move the one or more goods and the coveror envelope along a common filling or inserting path in such a way thatthe envelope is moved at least a little bit slower than the one or moregoods so that along the filling path the one or more goods eventually“overtake” the envelope, however, since the envelope has its envelopethroat opened, this process results in the filling of the goods into theenvelope. Such an approach is, for example, described by U.S. Pat. No.3,423,900 or EP 1 418 840 A1. In accordance with these approaches duringthe filling process the envelope is moved continuously along the fillingpath, wherein the transport of the envelope along the filling path isachieved by filling elements that are provided on both sides of thefilling path and engaged with the lateral inside edges of the envelopebody. However, the filling elements are inserted into the stoppedenvelope and moving the filling elements along the inserting path willcause the transport of the envelope along the inserting path. Thedrawback of this approach is that the filling elements cause thetransport of the envelope so that a precise placement of these envelopesonto the filling elements is needed. Therefore, handling of theenvelopes becomes difficult in case of deviations in the format, e.g.due to manufacturing tolerance which may be in the range of about 1.5mm. Such tolerances in the width direction of the envelope result in theenvelope to be either clamped on the filling elements or to be held bythe filling elements loosely; in either case no reliable transport ofthe envelopes is possible. In case a clamping occurs the removal of thefilled envelope from the filling elements is difficult. Further, it isnot possible to actively decelerate the transport mechanism as thiswould result in the envelopes to slide off the filling elements. Also,there is no flexibility allowing for an easy change of the formatsprocessed. Yet another problem with the approach of U.S. Pat. No.3,423,900 or EP 1 418 840 A1 is that, as mentioned above, tolerances ofthe dimensions of the envelopes are not considered. Since the fillingelements will also provide for the transport of the envelope they needto be adjusted dependent on the envelope. A further disadvantage is thatremoval of the envelope from the filling element by the goods transportis difficult in case the goods comprise only a single sheet of paper. Inthis case, the force applied by the goods transport may damage the sheetbefore a movement of the envelope by the filling element is started.Further, there is no possibility control how far the filling elementmoves into the envelope, e.g. dependent on the thickness of the goods,rather independent of the thickness of the goods to be inserted, thefilling element is to be inserted completely into the envelope, i.e., itis inserted up to a fixed position so that the envelope is spannedirrespective of the thickness of the goods to be inserted. Further, inaccordance with EP 1 418 840 A1 an envelope flap is held by a suctionrail which decelerates the envelope so that it is maintained in contactwith the filling element, however, there is no control or regulationpossible. Further, there are difficulties when removing the filledenvelope using the goods transport, since the provision of theadditional suction rail and the decelerating action thereof needs toapply a high force to the envelope for removing it from the fillingelements which, naturally, results in damages and possible jams evenafter the filling process has already been completed. Further, thisapproach needs high mechanical efforts, for example due to the neededmechanical coupling of all drives via a single main shaft.

Another problem with approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,900 or EP1 418 840 A1 is that a central portion of the envelope sags becausefilling elements engage with the opposite lateral edges of the envelope.In case of larger formats, e.g. formats having a large lateraldimension, this is a serious problem as the one or more goods to beinserted may collide with the sagging envelope side resulting in jams sothat no reliable filling is possible.

Yet another problem with approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,900or EP 1 418 840 A1 is that the goods and the envelope are moved so thatit is a prerequisite to carefully control the motion of each element toavoid a gap between a leading edge of the goods and an edge of anenvelope flap. In case such a gap is generated the goods and theenvelope flap may collide. This is a problem being specificallyproblematic with short flaps.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, an apparatus for inserting one or more goodsinto a moving cover may have a cover transport; and at least one movableflap holder configured to cover a flap of the cover and to maintain theflap of the cover and the one or more movable goods to be inserted intothe cover separated during at least a part of the movement of the cover,wherein the flap holder comprises at least one element to separate theflap of the cover and the one or more movable goods while a leading edgeof the one or more goods passes the edge of the flap of the cover.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus for inserting one or moregoods into a moving cover may have a cover transport; and at least onemovable flap holder configured to cover a flap of the cover and tomaintain the flap of the cover and the one or more movable goods to beinserted into the cover separated during at least a part of the movementof the cover, wherein the flap holder comprises at least one element toseparate the flap of the cover and the one or more movable goods while aleading edge of the one or more goods passes the edge of the flap of thecover, wherein the flap holder is movable partially between a firstposition and a sec- and position, the second position being furtherdownstream along the common transport direction than the first position,wherein prior to filling the one or more goods into the cover the flapholder is configured to be moved from the first position to the secondposition thereby covering the flap of the cover, and wherein the flapholder is configured to be moved back to the first position after atleast a part of the one or more goods has passed the flap of the cover.

According to another embodiment, a method for inserting one or moregoods into a moving cover may have the steps of moving the cover and theone or more goods in a common transport direction; opening the cover;during at least a part of the movement of the cover, covering a flap ofthe cover and for separating the flap of the cover and the one or moremoving goods to be inserted into the cover from each other; andinserting the one or more goods into the moving cover, wherein the flapof the cover and the one or more moving goods are separated while aleading edge of the one or more goods passes the edge of the flap of thecover.

Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus for inserting one ormore goods into a moving cover, comprising:

-   -   a cover transport; and    -   at least one movable flap holder configured to cover a flap of        the cover and to maintain the flap of the cover and the one or        more movable goods to be inserted into the cover separated,        during at least a part of the movement of the cover.

Embodiments of the invention provide a method for inserting one or moregoods into a moving cover, comprising:

-   -   moving the cover and the one or more goods in a common transport        direction;    -   opening the cover;    -   during at least a part of the movement of the cover, covering a        flap of the cover and separating the flap of the cover and the        one or more moving goods to be inserted into the cover from each        other; and    -   inserting the one or more goods into the moving cover.

Thus, in accordance with embodiments a flap holder is provided such thatno gap between a leading edge of the goods and an edge of an envelopeflap is generated so that control of the goods and the envelope whichare moved simultaneously is easier and collisions between a leading edgeof the goods and an edge of an envelope flap are avoided, therebyensuring a reliable filling process.

Embodiments of the invention describe a system in which a fillingprocess is a “continuous process”. This means that the envelope (thecover) and the insert (the one or more goods) are moved together in thesame direction but with different speed levels so that due to thisdifference in speed levels the goods or inserts are eventuallytransported into the envelope. This approach is advantageous because inthe filling area or along the filling path, several processes may takeplace in parallel. For example, the filling process of a first envelopealong the filling path may not yet be finished, but an opening andfilling process of a subsequent envelope may already have been startedso that for each process step more time is available. At the same timethe throughput can be increased due to the parallel operations. Further,the mutual relative movement of the inserts and envelopes allows for arelatively low filling speed even at high cycle speeds. Due to the lowfilling speeds a careful treatment of the inserts is guaranteed.

In accordance with embodiments, the filling process is such that a goodstransport receives the inserts directly from a collating track. Anenvelope may be located in a gripper transport and opened by blow airbefore or as it enters the filling area or the filling path. Theenvelope is transported into the filling path, in accordance withembodiments, from underneath with the gripper transport and,advantageously, the filling process is “hinge line”-oriented (the hingeline is the line where the envelope flap is connected to the envelopebody), i.e. the filling process starts when the leading edge of thegoods reached the hinge line of the envelope, e.g. a leading edge of theinserts, filling fingers, separating elements etc. When moving into thefilling path, the envelope is opened by the blow air provided by airnozzles arranged in front of the filling path. The flap of the envelopemay be controlled so that it does not collide with the inserts to beinserted, for example by sheet metal stripes laying on the flap whilethe envelope is moved into the filling path may be provided. Fillingfingers are moved into the opened envelope and the filling processstarts when the filling fingers have been moved into the opened envelopeand a leading edge of the insert is positioned at the hinge line.

Contrary to conventional approaches, in accordance with the inventiveapproach, the filling fingers are only for guiding the inserts into theenvelope, but they are not provided for causing a transport of theenvelope along the filling path. Rather, an additional envelopetransport is provided, for example a suction belt that may be configuredto keep the envelope and the flap down on its rear side and to move theenvelope along the filling path. The suction belt transport may have thesame speed or a speed higher than the filling fingers so that thetransport is effected only by the envelope transport but not by thefilling members. The insert in moved into the opened envelope due to thehigher speed of the goods transport when compared to the speed of theenvelope transport, the speed of the filling fingers and the speed ofthe separating device.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention collisions with theenvelope side wall or an envelope window, if present, are avoided due tothe lateral filling fingers. Further, the filling fingers may overcomean inner envelope adhesion, i.e., the adhesion of the two sides of theenvelope, which may be due to excess adhesive during the envelopemanufacturing process. Once the filling process is completed, thesuction belt transport positioned at the bottom is switched off and anactive output transport with a speed being equal or higher than thefilling slide transport, gets into contact with the filled envelope andretracts it off the lateral filling guides and moves it out of thefilling path.

Further, a separating device for guiding the envelope is provided, e.g.on a circulating transport. The separating device may be provided forsupporting the process of envelope opening and/or keeping the envelopeopen during filling. It may be arranged above the envelope transport andengages with a part of the envelope thereby avoiding sagging of theenvelope so that the envelope cut and the envelope throat are protectedfrom a collision with the inserts during the filling process.

Embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus for inserting one ormore goods into an envelope, comprising an inserting path, an envelopetransport, a goods transport, and at least one element for separating aflap of the envelope from the one or more goods in a transfer area ofthe inserting path in which a front edge of the goods crosses theenvelope flap. The at least one element may be a flexible element thatis biased in a direction towards the envelope flap. The at least oneelement may be movable in an envelope movement direction starting fromthe inserting path by a predefined distance along the inserting path,wherein the apparatus may further comprise a controller that is adaptedto control the at least one element such that it is arranged between theone or more goods and the envelope flap at a position along theinserting path.

When compared to the above-described standard approaches, the inventiveapproach is advantageous. With regard to the inserters operating inaccordance with the start/stop approach embodiments of the inventionprovide for an inserter and a filling process which is faster, yetresulting in less wear and less stress for of the goods and theenvelopes during filling.

Further, when compared to the approaches providing for the continuouslateral filling process, the inventive approach is advantageous as it isflexible with regard to the formats to be used and changing betweenrespective formats is much simpler. It is less costly because less partsare needed and the needed space for installation is smaller as thedecisive dimensions for the installation space are the longitudinalsides of the envelope. Since the envelopes and the goods are transportedin line (not angular), the number of envelopes and goods that need to betransported simultaneously along the filling path is smaller. Also, afaster filling is achieved. Also, the kinematic is reduced as theenvelope and the goods are transported in line which, in turn, resultsin a higher process security.

When compared to the approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,900 or EP1 418 840 A1, the inventive approach is advantageous as a separatetransport for the covers or envelopes is provided, i.e., the transportof the envelopes is achieved independently of any other element engagingwith the envelope, e.g. the filling fingers, the separation device orthe flap holder, so that the transport may reliably handle envelopeshaving different dimensions due to tolerances. Further, both the one ormore goods and the envelope can be actively decelerated. The envelope istransported separately from the filling elements which allows to useseparate drives. Yet a further advantage of the inventive approach isthat a secure separation of the two sides of the envelope is obtainedand that, at the same time, the inserting of the goods is supported andis guided and any collision with the edges of the envelope are avoided.Moreover, since the envelope is not held by the filling element, it ispossible to actively remove the filling element after or during thefilling process. The filling finger can be moved into the envelopedependent on the goods to be inserted, i.e., the envelope is only openedas it is a prerequisite for receiving the goods. It is not aprerequisite to accelerate the envelope and the goods at the end of theprocess, rather due to the separate drives it is possible, for example,to slow down the filling elements so that the filled envelope leaves thefilling element. Yet another advantage of the inventive approach is thatthe envelope transport may be actively controlled independent of theelements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with regard to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an inserter in accordance withembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the inserter taken along the line 2-2′in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A-3H show the filling process in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention, wherein FIGS. 3A-3H are representations of an inserter asdescribed in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 during the filling process;

FIG. 4 is a partial top view of the inserter of FIG. 1 using threesuction belts a instead of a single suction belt;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show gripper conveyors in accordance with differentembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a gripper conveyor in accordance with a differentembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows a gripper conveyor in accordance with a differentembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment allowing thepositioning of an envelope such that its flap is arranged away from theenvelope transport;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the inserter similar to the one inFIG. 1 describing a filling aid in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 9A illustrates the placement of the filling fingers inside theenvelope for a thin insert;

FIG. 9B illustrates the placement of the filling fingers inside theenvelope for a thick insert;

FIGS. 10A and 10B show an enlarged view of a front part of the fillingpath of the inserter of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 10A is a schematic topview, and FIG. 10B is a sectional view taken along line b-b′;

FIGS. 11A and 11B show the filling process at a position downstream fromthe position in FIGS. 10A and 10B, wherein FIG. 11A is a top view, andFIG. 11B is a view taken along line b-b′ in FIG. 11A;

FIGS. 12A and 12B show a situation even further down the filling pathfrom the position in FIGS. 11A and 11B where the filling process hasbeen completed, wherein FIG. 12A is a top view, and FIG. 12B is asectional view taken along line b-b′;

FIGS. 13A and 13B show yet another embodiment of the filling aid,wherein FIG. 13A is a top view, and FIG. 13B is a view taken along lineb-b′ in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 14 shows a first envelope having a first width and a filling fingerinserted;

FIG. 15 shows a second envelope having a second width and a fillingfinger inserted;

FIG. 16 shows an initial situation of the filling process using at leastone separating device according to embodiments of the invention, wherean envelope is already transported by the envelope transport, but thegoods have not yet reached the hinge line of the envelope;

FIG. 17 shows a situation where the envelope, the goods and the clawshave been moved further in the transport direction when compared to FIG.16;

FIG. 18 shows a situation where the envelope, the goods and the clawshave been moved even further in the transport direction when compared toFIG. 17;

FIG. 19 shows a situation in which the filling process is almostcompleted;

FIG. 20 shows the situation where the filling process has been completedand transport of the envelope has been taken over by the goodstransport;

FIG. 21 shows a separating device according to another embodiments ofthe invention;

FIGS. 22A and 22B show a separating device according to yet anotherembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 23 shows a flap holder in accordance with embodiments of theinvention configured to cover an envelope flap during at least a part ofthe movement of the envelope in an inserter as is it is shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 24A and 24B show further embodiments of the flap holder, whereinFIG. 24A shows a flap holder having six flap holder elements, andwherein FIG. 24B shows another embodiment comprising only two flapholder elements;

FIGS. 25A-25C show an embodiment using stationary flap holder elements,wherein FIG. 25A shows an initial situation in which an envelope hasbeen fed to the envelope transport, wherein FIG. 25B shows a situationwhere the envelope and the goods are moved through a transfer area, andwherein FIG. 25C shows a situation where the envelope and the goods haveleft the transfer area;

FIGS. 26A-26C show an embodiment using movable flap holder elements,wherein FIG. 26A shows an initial situation in which an envelope hasbeen fed to the envelope transport, wherein FIG. 26B shows a situationwhere the envelope and the goods are moved through a transfer area, andwherein FIG. 26C shows a situation where the envelope and the goods haveleft the transfer area;

FIGS. 27A and 27B show a flap holder in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 28 shows adjustable flap holders in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 29 shows another embodiment of the flap holder comprising flapholder elements which can travel together with the envelope along thefilling path;

FIGS. 30A and 30B show an embodiment comprising an additional envelopetransport, wherein FIG. 30A is a schematic top view, and FIG. 30B is asectional view taken along line b-b′;

FIG. 31 shows another embodiment of the additional envelope transport;

FIG. 32 shows yet another embodiment of the additional envelopetransport; and

FIG. 33 shows a schematic representation of an alternative embodimentfor realizing the filling fingers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a subsequent description of embodiments of the invention the sameelements or elements having the same functionality will be provided withthe same reference numbers. In the following, different aspect inaccordance with embodiments of the invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an inserter in accordance withembodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 is a top view of the inserter whichcomprises an envelope transport 100 comprising a suction belt 102 havingfirst portions 104 ₁ and 104 ₂ where the suction belt 102 is providedwith openings so that a suction force can be applied by a vacuummechanism provided beneath the suction belt 102 to an object arranged onthe suction belt 102. Further, the suction belt comprises secondportions 106 ₁, 106 ₂, 106 ₃ where no holes are provided so that in thispart of the suction belt no suction force is applied to an objectarranged thereon. The suction belt 102 further comprises elevations 108₁ and 108 ₂ which are thicker (in the direction vertical to the plane ofthe drawing) than the portions 104 and 106. In accordance withembodiments, the elevations 108 are ramp-shaped so that the elevationraises along the transport direction F. Also other shapes of theelevations are possible. The envelope conveyor 100 is provided totransport the respective envelopes E₁ and E₂ using the suction belt 102.The envelopes are placed on the suction belt 102 such that an envelopemain body is only partly arranged in the first portion 104 ₁, 104 ₂,however, the respective flaps F₁ and F₂ are arranged adjacent to theelevations 108 ₁, 108 ₂ and completely on the first portions 104 ₁, 104₂ thereby being held by the suction force applied through the openingsin section 104 ₁, 104 ₂. This ensures that the flaps F₁ and F₂ are heldon the suction belt. The ramp-shaped elevations 108 ₁, 108 ₂ cause thegoods to slightly raise from a transport level in which the envelope ismoved so that the flaps may securely be passed without any collision.

The envelope transport 100 is provided to move one or more envelopes E₁,E₂ along an inserting path or filling path which starts where anenvelope E₁ and one or more goods G₁, for example one or more sheets ofpaper, start to overlap and which ends when the goods are completelyinside the envelope E₁. FIG. 1 shows a further envelope E₃ that alreadyleft the filling path and into which the goods G₃ have already beeninserted. Further, goods G₄ are depicted at the left-hand side of FIG. 1which are currently forwarded towards the inserter to be inserted intoan envelope following envelope E₁. The envelopes E₁ to E₃ are shown atdifferent stages of the inserting process and, as can be seen, allenvelopes have their flaps F₁ to F₃ open so that the goods G₁ to G₃ canbe filled into the envelope. Envelope E₁ is at the beginning of thefilling path and the goods G₁ already passed the flap F₁ and the leadingedge of the goods is inside the envelope. Due to the different speedswith which the envelope and the goods are moved, along the filling paththe goods are filled into the envelopes. Envelope E₂ has alreadyreceived the major part of the goods G₂ and the rear or trailing edge ofthe goods has passed the edge of the flap F₂. Envelope E₃ is alreadyfilled with the goods G₃ which have completely passed the flap F₃ andare inside the envelope E₃, i.e. a leading edge of the goods reached thebottom of the envelope.

The inserter shown in FIG. 1 further comprises a goods transport 200comprising a plurality of pairs of pushers 202 a, 202 b for engagementwith the goods G₁ to G₄. The goods transport 200 moves the goods with avelocity higher than the envelope transport 100. The goods and theenvelopes are transported in the same transport or conveying directionF. The openings of the envelopes are arranged lateral or perpendicularto the transport direction F so that the movement of the envelopes andthe goods in line along the same direction F results in the filling ofthe goods into the envelopes. The goods transport comprises the pair ofpushers 202 a and 202 b which engage with the respective trailing edgesof the goods G₁ to G₄, advantageously at positions symmetrically to acenter of the goods. Further, the goods transport 200 is longer than theenvelope transport 100, i.e. it starts in front of the filling path andextends beyond the filling path. The goods transport 200 may alsoprovide for a removal of the filled envelope E₃ out of the filling pathtowards a subsequent processing station or a subsequent transport.

The inserter further comprises a filling aid 300 comprising a firstconveyor 302 having a first, driven roller 304 and a second roller 306around which a chain or belt 308 extends. At predetermined intervalsalong the chain 308 a plurality of filling aid elements or fillingfingers 310 are provided. The first conveyor 302 is arranged such thatthe filling elements 310 are moved in the conveying direction F on aside of the conveyor facing the envelope transport 100 and are moved inthe opposite direction on the side facing away from the transport 100,i.e., the filling finger 310 move along the filling path and arereturned from the end of the filling path to the beginning of thefilling path. The filling aid 300 further comprises a second conveyor312 having a similar structure as the first conveyor. The secondconveyor 312 comprises a driven roller 314, a further roller 316 and achain or belt 318 extending around the rollers 314, 316. Respectivefilling aid elements or filling fingers 320 are arranged at the chain orbelt 318. The filling fingers 320 are moved in the conveying direction Fon the side of the chain 318 facing the envelope transport 100, and arereturned from the end of the filling path in the opposite direction backtowards the beginning of the filling path. The driven rollers 304 and314 may be driven by the same drive or motor so that the two conveyorsoperate in synchronism with each other. The filling fingers 320 areprovided to be moved by a predetermined distance into the envelopes E₁and E₂. More specifically, as is shown with respect to envelope E₁, thefilling fingers 310, 320 are arranged partially inside the envelope E₁and the goods G₁ are guided by the filling fingers into the envelope E₁,thereby avoiding collisions between the side edges (along the transportdirection) of the goods and the side edges (along the transportdirection) of the envelope.

In accordance with embodiments the filling fingers 310, 320 comprise alower part 310 a, 320 a, an upper part 310 b, 320 b and a verticalelement 310 c, 320 c connecting the upper and lower parts of therespective filling elements 310, 320. The upper and lower elements 310a, 320 a, 310 b, 320 b may be moveable with respect to each other (e.g.the lower part may be fixed and the upper part can be moved) so as tomove relative to each other dependent on the thickness of the goods G₁to G₄ to be inserted thereby adapting to the thickness of the goods tobe inserted. The filling fingers 310, 320 may become narrower towardsthe forward end in the conveying or transport direction of the elements310, 320.

The conveyors 302 and 312 are arranged at a distance from each otherwhich depends from the goods G₁ to G₄ to be inserted but not dependenton the lateral dimension of the envelopes E₁ to E₃. The filling fingers310, 320 are arranged at a distance defined by the goods and areinserted into the envelopes only to avoid collisions of the goods withthe envelope, however, the filling fingers 310, 312 do not perform anytransport operation of the envelopes E₁, E₂ along the filling path. Thetransport of the envelopes is only provided by the envelope transport100. Therefore, in accordance with embodiments the filling elements 310,320 are moved by the conveyor 302, 312 with a velocity that is equal toor slower than the speed with which the envelopes are moved by thetransport 100. The conveyors 302 and 312 may be moved lateral withrespect to each other so as to adjust the distance between the fillingelements 310, 320 easily dependent on the dimensions of the goods to beinserted, i.e., the filling fingers 310, 320 are adjusted independent ofany format of the envelope and are, therefore, independent and notinfluenced by possible format tolerances of the envelope. Since thefilling fingers 310, 312 are set with respect to the goods to be filledbut not with respect to the format of the envelope, a filled envelope E₃can be easily removed from the filling fingers 310, 320.

FIG. 1 further shows two separating claws 402 of a separating devicedescribed in further detail with regard to FIG. 2. The separating claws402 engages with the trailing edge of a side of the envelope E₁ that isopposite to the side to which the flap F₁ is attached. The separatingclaws 402 are arranged such that the envelope is held open along theinserting path, i.e., the two sides of the envelope are separated andcollisions between the goods and the upper side of the envelope areavoided, e.g. in situations where the center part of the upper side ofthe envelope would sag without any support.

The functionality of the inserter depicted in FIG. 1 is as follows. Anenvelope E₁ is received by the envelope transport 100 from an envelopefeeder and is transported along the filling path with a first velocity.At the same time, goods G₁ are moved by the goods transport 200 alsoalong the filling path, however, with a velocity higher than thevelocity by which the transport 100 moves the envelope E₁. Also, thefilling elements 310, 320 are moved into the filling path and are placedby a predetermined distance into the envelope. The velocity of thefilling fingers 310, 320 is equal to or less than the transport speed ofthe envelope transport 100. As the envelope E₁ is moved down the fillingpath, due to the velocity of the goods G₁ being higher than the velocityof the envelope, the goods G₁ are inserted and collisions betweeninserts and the envelope are avoided by the filling fingers 310, 320acting as the guides so that eventually, as is shown in FIG. 1 forenvelope E₂, the goods are filled into the envelope. At the end of thefilling path the goods are completely filled into the envelope, i.e.,their leading edge reached a bottom of the envelope. At the end of thefilling path the envelope is released from the envelope transport 100and is conveyed or advantageously transported in the direction F bymeans of the goods transport 200 which is still in engagement with thegoods (see envelope E₃). Since the velocity of the goods transport 200is higher than the velocity by which the filling fingers 310, 320 aremoved, the filled envelope E₃ is removed from the filling fingers 310,320 and is transported towards an output of the inserter.

While FIG. 1 depicts an inserter in which two envelopes are arrangedalong the filling path at the same time, it is noted that the inventionis not limited to such embodiments. The inventive principles may beequally applied to an inserter processing only a single envelope alongthe filling path, alternatively also more than two envelopes may beprovided along the inserting path.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the inserter of FIG. 1 taken along theline 2-2′. FIG. 2 shows further details of the envelope transport 100,the goods transport 200 and the separating device 400. The goodstransport 200 comprises a first, driven roller 204 and a second roller206 arranged at a distance from the end of the filling path and thebeginning of the filling path, respectively. A belt or chain 208 extendsaround the rollers 204, 206 which carries a plurality pushers 202 a. Asimilar structure is arranged symmetrically with respect to alongitudinal center of the inserter for moving the pusher elements 202 bbut is not shown in FIG. 2. The driven rollers of the two belts may beprovided with the same drive which is operated independent of the drivesof the envelope transport 100 and the conveyors.

The envelope transport 100 comprises a first, driven roller 110 and asecond roller 112 around which the suction belt 102 extends. Theenvelope transport 100 further comprises a vacuum chamber 114 thatextends partly between the rollers 110 and 112 for applying a suctionforce to the sections 104 of the suction belt as the respective sections104 are moved across the vacuum chamber 114. The vacuum chamber 114extends from the roller 112 along the conveying direction F towards theroller 110, however, there is a gap between the end of the vacuumchamber 114 and the roller 110 so that in this area no suction forcewill be applied to an envelope, i.e., at this point the envelope will bereleased from the envelope transport 100.

FIG. 2 further shows a separating device 400 comprising a first, drivenroller 404 and a second roller 406 as well as a belt or a chain 408extending around the rollers 404, 406 to which the respective separatingclaws 402 are mounted.

The device further comprises a pair of blow nozzles 500 arranged at thebeginning of the filling path and provided for blowing air towards anenvelope that was received by the envelope transport 100, therebyopening the envelope. Further, a surface 502 formed of a plate or one ormore stripes is provided that extends in front of the filling path,wherein an envelope—when being fed to the filling path—passes beneaththe surface 502, and wherein the goods on the way to the filling pathmove above the surface 502.

Subsequently, the filling process will be described in further detail onthe basis of FIGS. 3A to 3H representations of an inserter as describedin FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 during the filling process. In FIG. 3A the envelopeE₁ has been supplied from an envelope feeder that may be arrangedbeneath the filling path and received at the envelope transport 100 (seeFIG. 1 and FIG. 2). The envelope E₁ has been opened by the blowers 500(see FIG. 2) and a leading edge of the goods G₁ has been positioned atthe hinge line HL and the filling process starts. The filling fingers310, 320 have been moved such that a leading edge thereof is inside theenvelope E₁, and the separation claw 402 has been brought intoengagement with the upper side of the envelope E₁. In accordance withembodiments a center part of the flap of an envelope is held by theenvelope transport, however, the part of the flap not held may rise sothat a collision with goods to be inserted may occur. To avoid this, theinserter may further comprise a flap holder 504, e.g. metal stripes 504a-504 d. Two stripes 504 a, 504 b are provided on one side of theenvelope transport 100, i.e. between the envelope transport 100 and thefirst conveyor 302 of the filling aid 300. Two stripes 504 b, 504 c areprovided on the other side of the envelope transport 100, i.e. betweenthe envelope transport 100 and the second conveyor 312 of the fillingaid 300. The metal stripes 504 a-504 d hold the flap F₁ of the envelopeE₁ down in a region between the envelope transport 100 and therespective conveyors 302, 312 of the filling aid 300 so that the goodsG₁ do not collide with the flap F₁ in this portion. Further, theinserter comprises an output transport 506 for moving a filled envelopetowards an output of the inserter. In FIG. 3A also the envelopes E₂ andE₃ are shown, of which envelope E₂ has almost been filled and which ispositioned along the filling path downstream of envelope E₁. Envelope E₃has been completely filled and has been transferred to the outputtransport 506. The suction belt (not shown in FIG. 3) is switched on,i.e. vacuum is applied, so that the envelope E₁ is held by the suctionbelt and will be transported as the suction belt moves. The pushers 202a, 202 b of the goods transport 200 have engaged the goods G₄ for asubsequent filling process which have already been received from acollating track upstream of the inserter.

In FIG. 3B the envelope E₁ has traveled down the filling path and thegoods G₁ have begun to be filled into the envelope E₁. Envelope E₂ hasbeen completely filled and will be transferred to the output transport506, and envelope E₃ almost reached the output. Also, the transport of anew envelope into the filling path has begun.

In FIG. 3C, envelope E₃ has been removed from the inserter and envelopeE₂ is now transported by the output transport 506 towards the output ofthe inserter. The filling of the envelope E₁ is in progress, i.e. theinserts G₁ are moved towards the bottom B of the envelope E₁. The newenvelope E₄ has been received at the beginning of the filling path andis transported by the envelope transport. The goods G₄ have not yetreached the beginning of the filling path, and the filling fingers 310,320 start to pivot into the filling path.

FIG. 3D to FIG. 3G illustrate how the start position for the fillingprocess is reached by the envelope E₄, the goods G₄ and filling fingers310, 312 so that finally a position as in FIG. 3H is reached. Followingthe situation depicted in FIG. 3H a situation as in FIG. 3A is reached.At the same time, envelope E₁ is completely filled and ready to betransferred to the output transport 506, while envelope E₂ reaches theoutput of the inserter.

Thus, in the filling process of FIG. 3 the goods transport receives thegoods from a collating track. The envelope may be fed by a grippertransport of an envelope feeder towards the filling path and opened byblow air. The envelope may be transported from underneath using thegripper transport. When moving into the filling path, the envelope isopened by the blow air and the flap may be controlled by means of sheetmetal stripes laying on the flap. The revolving lateral filling fingers310, 320 are moved into the opened envelope and the filling processstarts when the lateral filling fingers have been moved at leastpartially into the envelope and the leading edge of the goods ispositioned at the hinge line. The suction belt transport keeps theenvelope and the flap down and moves the envelope through the fillingpath. The suction belt has the same speed or slower as the revolvinglateral filling fingers and has an adjustable switch on/switch off pointfor the suction area dependent on the format of the envelope. The goodstransport moves the goods into the opened envelope due to the differentspeed of the goods transport when compared to the speed of the suctionbelt transport. Once the filling process is completed, in accordancewith embodiments, the suction belt transport is switched off and anactive transport having a speed equal to or higher than the goodstransport takes over the filled envelope which draws it from the lateralfilling fingers 310, 320 and moves it out of the filling area.

In FIG. 1 the envelope transport 100 comprises a single suction belt.However, the invention is not limited to such a configuration. Also, aplurality of suction belts may be used as is shown in FIG. 4 showing apartial top view of the inserter of FIG. 1. Instead of providing asingle suction belt, three suction belts 102 a, 102 b and 102 c areprovided side by side and extending in parallel along the conveyingdirection F. The suction belts 102 a to 102 c are of the same structureas suction belt 102 described above. The suction belts 102 a, 102 b and102 c are arranged at a distance in a lateral direction of therespective envelopes such that the first pusher 202 a of the goodstransport 200 is arranged between the first and second suction belts 102a and 102 b and such that the second pusher 202 b of the goods transport200 is arranged between the second suction belt 102 b and the thirdsuction belt 102 c. It is noted that two suction belts or more thanthree suction belts may also be used.

Further, it is noted that the invention is not limited to the use ofsuction belts, rather any kind of conveyor may be used, advantageously aconveyor that engages with the exterior of the envelope, for examplefrom above or from below. FIG. 5A shows an example of a gripper conveyor600 comprising a first roller 601 and a second roller 602 as well as abelt or a chain 604 extending around the rollers 601, 602. The chaincomprises a gripper element 606 for engagement with a leading edge 608of an envelope E₁ so that the envelope is held at its leading edge 608and moved as the gripper element 206 is moved by the belt 604. FIG. 5Bshows a top view of the gripper conveyor.

As is shown in FIG. 6, instead of a single gripper conveyor as shown inFIG. 5, two or more gripper conveyors, e.g. two conveyors 604 a and 604b, may be provided engaging by means of respective elements 606 a and606 b at different positions along the leading edge 608 of the envelopeE₁. Providing more than one engagement location is advantageous as thisavoids a displacement or turning of the envelope E₁ with regard to theconveying direction.

FIG. 7 shows yet another embodiment of a possible gripper conveyorcomprising two belts or chains 604 a and 604 b arranged on both sides ofthe filling path so that an envelope is transported there between. Thegripper elements 606 a and 606 b, other than in the embodiments of FIGS.5 and 6, do not engage with the leading edge 608, but with two opposedlateral edges 610 a, 610 b of the envelope E₁, advantageously a positionclose to the leading edge 608.

In the embodiments described so far the envelope was placed on theenvelope conveyor such that its flap is positioned on the envelopeconveyor. However, the principles of the inventive approach may also beapplied for inserters in which the envelope is held such that the sidenot having the flap is moved by an envelope conveyor. In such aconfiguration the lateral filling fingers operating independent of theenvelope transport can also be used. FIG. 8 shows a schematicrepresentation of an embodiment allowing the positioning of the envelopesuch that when the envelope is open the flap is arranged away from theenvelope transport. In FIG. 8, the envelope transport 100 is shown whichmay be formed of a suction transport that was described with regard toFIGS. 1 and 2. The separating device 400 having basically the samestructure as described with regard to FIGS. 1 and 2 is used inaccordance with this embodiment to engage with flap F₁ of the envelopeE₁ and is moveable at the same speed as the envelope so that theseparating element 402 maintains the flap F₁ open during the fillingprocess. Other than in FIGS. 1 and 2, the goods transport 200 is placedat a different position and with a different orientation, morespecifically the goods transport is provided upside down when comparedto the positioning in FIG. 1 so that the pusher 202 a does not collidewith the flap F₁ held open by the element 402. Except for the differentplacement of the envelope, the different arrangement of the goodsconveyor and the different functionality of the separating device, thefunctionality of the inserter as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8 isthe same as the functionality of the inserter as described with regardto FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

It is noted that an embodiment has been described above, however, notall of the described elements are needed in accordance with theteachings of the present invention. Rather, in accordance with anembodiment, an apparatus for inserting one or more goods G₁ to G₄ into amoveable cover E₁ to E₃ comprises the cover transport 100 and at leastone movable flap holder 504 configured to cover a flap of the cover E₁to E₃ and to maintain the flap of the cover E₁ to E₃ and the one or moremovable goods G₁ to G₄ to be inserted into the cover E₁ to E₃ separated,during at least a part of the movement of the cover E₁ to E₃.

A further embodiment of the filling aid 300 will now be described withreference to FIG. 9 which is a schematic top view of the insertersimilar to the one in FIG. 1, except that the filling aid 300 isrealized in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. Thoseelements already described with regard to FIG. 1 have associatedtherewith the same reference signs, but are not described again. Thefilling aid 300 comprises a first conveyor 302 comprising a rail 340having two bent portions 340 a, 340 b that are connected by respectivestraight portions 340 c, 340 d. The straight portions 340 c, 340 d arearranged in parallel to each other. The straight portion 340 c isarranged at a side of the conveyor 302 facing the envelope transport100, and the straight portion 340 d is provided on the side of theconveyor 302 facing away from the envelope transport 100. The first bentor curved portion 340 a is arranged at a position ahead of the start ofthe filling path, i.e. further upstream when compared to the start ofthe filling path, and the second bent or curved portion 340 b isarranged behind the end of the inserting path, i.e. further down-streamin the transport direction F when compared to the end of the fillingpath. A plurality of filling aid elements or filling fingers 310′ areprovided which are removably mounted to the rail 340. Each of thefilling fingers 310′ is individually movable along the rail 340, e.g.the filling fingers 310′ may be self-propelled. The filling fingers310′, like in FIGS. 1 to 3, are moved at least partially into anenvelope. Each of the filling fingers 310′ may be moved and controlledindividually. At the left-hand part of the conveyor 302 a number offilling fingers is shown in a waiting position. As soon as a newenvelope is fed towards the filling path, the most forward fillingfinger is moved in accordance with the principles of the invention forsupporting the inserting process as described above. The filling aid 300comprises a second conveyor 304 having the same structure as the firstconveyor 302. The conveyor comprises a rail 342 having two bent portions342 a, 342 b connected by respective straight portions 342 c, 342 d. Aplurality of filling aid elements or filling fingers 320′ are providedand may be moved independently of each other along the rail 304.

The embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B is advantageous as an individualcontrol of the respective filling fingers 310′, 320′ is possible sothat, for example, a depth by which the respective fingers 310′, 320′intrude into the interior of the envelope E₁ can be controlled easily.More specifically, an individual control for each of the envelopes to befilled is possible and, for example, on the basis of the goods to beinserted an insertion depth may be selected. Otherwise, thefunctionality of the filling aid depicted in FIG. 9 corresponds to thefunctionality of the filling aid described above. The placement of thefilling fingers inside the envelope will now be described with referenceto FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, schematically showing the placement of thefilling fingers inside the envelope for a thin insert (see FIG. 9A) andfor a thick insert (see FIG. 9B).

FIG. 9A is a schematic view of a portion of the inserter as it is shownin FIG. 2 or in FIG. 9. An insert G₁ having a thickness d₁ is suppliedto the inserter. The filling finger 310 has been placed inside theenvelope E₁ such that the throat of the envelope E₁ is arranged abouthalf way up the inclined part of the upper part 310 b of the fillingfinger (see the position of the hinge line HL). Thereby, the throat ofthe envelope E₁ is opened by h₁ (the opposite faces of the envelope E₁at the hinge line are separated by the distance h₁). This distance h₁ issufficient to allow secure and reliable inserting of the insert G₁ intothe envelope. It is not needed to fully open the envelope (fully placingthe filling finger into the envelope).

In FIG. 9B the insert G₁ has a thickness d₂ which is greater that thethickness in FIG. 9A, i.e. the insert is thicker. In this case, thefilling finger 310 has been placed inside the envelope E₁ such that thethroat of the envelope E₁ is arranged about all the way up the inclinedpart of the upper part 310 b of the filling finger (see the position ofthe hinge line HL). Thereby, the throat of the envelope E₁ is opened byh₂, which is greater than the distance h₁ in FIG. 9A. This distance h₂allows reliable and secure inserting of the insert G₁ into the envelopeby fully opening the envelope (fully placing the filling finger into theenvelope). As can be seen from a comparison of FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B thismay be achieved by moving the filling finger 310 by different distancesalong the transport direction of the insert/envelope. More specifically,in case of FIG. 9A the filing finger 310 is moved to a position x₁ alongthe transport direction. In FIG. 9B the filing finger 310 is movedfurther down along the transport direction to a position x₂, therebybeing placed deeper inside the envelope E₁. Different opening distancesmay be achieved by moving the filing finger such that a positionupstream or downstream of x₁ is reached.

It is noted that the placement of the filling fingers inside theenvelope as described with respect to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B may beachieved by filling aids described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 9.

In the following the functionality of the filling aid fingers at thebeginning of the filling process will be described on the basis of FIGS.10A and 10B showing an enlarged view of a front part of the filling pathof the inserter of FIG. 1. FIG. 10A is a schematic top view, and FIG.10B is a sectional view taken along line b-b′. FIGS. 10A and 10B showthe situation at the beginning of the filling or inserting process. Theenvelope E₁ has already been engaged by the envelope transport 100. Thegoods pusher 202 a move the goods G₁. The filling fingers 310, 320 havepassed the rollers 306, 316 halfway so that at the position shown inFIG. 10A a longitudinal extension of the filling fingers 310, 320 issubstantially perpendicular to the envelope transport direction F (alongwhich the envelope E₁ and the goods G₁ are transported). The fillingfingers 310, 320 are mounted to the belts or chains 308, 318 byrespective connecting parts 310 d, 320 d. In accordance with embodimentsthe filling fingers may be removably mounted to the respective belts308, 318. The leading edge or end of the filling fingers is about toreach the hinge line HL of the envelope E₁. It is noted that inaccordance with the inventive approach the filling process is acontinuous process, i.e., the envelope E₁, the goods G₁ and the fillingfinger 310, 320 are moved continuously. As the respective fingers aremoved they will complete their turn around the respective rollers 306,316 and will enter into the envelope E₁ prior to the goods G₁ so thatthe goods G₁ are guided by the respective filling fingers 310, 320. Asis shown in FIG. 10B the filling finger 310 comprises the abovedescribed lower part 310 a and the upper part 310 b connected by thewall part 310 c, thereby defining a space between the upper and lowerparts 310 a, 310 b for accommodating the goods G₁ on their way into theenvelope E₁.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show the filling process at a position downstream fromthe position in FIG. 10. Again, FIG. 11A is a top view, and FIG. 11B isa view taken along line b-b′ in FIG. 11A. The envelope transport 100moves the envelope E₁ with a first velocity, and the goods transport 200moves the pusher 202 a and thereby the goods G₁ with a velocity fasterthan the velocity by which the envelope E₁ is moved. Thus, as both theenvelope E₁ and the goods G₁ travel down the inserting or filling path,the goods starts to “overtake” the envelope. The envelope is opened sothat the goods are inserted into the envelope. The filling fingers 310,320 are arranged such that their leading edges have been moved into theenvelope E₁ and the goods G₁ are guided into the envelope by means ofthe filling fingers 310, 320, thereby avoiding any collisions with theenvelope E₁. As mentioned above, the filling fingers 310, 320 are drivenindependently of the envelope transport 100 at a speed that is equal toor slower than the speed of the envelope conveyor 100; the fillingfingers 310, 320 do not cause any transport of the envelope E₁. Also,the lateral distance of the filling fingers 310, 320 is only defined bythe dimension of the goods G₁ to be inserted, but not by the lateraldimension of the envelope E₁.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show a situation even further down the filling pathwhere the filling process has been completed. Again, FIG. 12A is a topview, and FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along line b-b′. As can beseen, the envelope E₁ reached the end of the filling path and the goodsG₁ are completely inserted into the envelope E₁, i.e. they reached theenvelope bottom at a leading edge of the envelope E₁. Further, thesuction portion 104 ₁ of the envelope transport 100 is now in an areainto which the vacuum chamber 114 does not extend, so that the transportof the envelope E₁ by the envelope transport 100 ceases. The furthertransport of the filled envelope E₁ is provided by the goods transport200 still engaging by means of the pushers 202 a, 202 b the goods G₁.Further, since the goods transport 200 operates at a speed faster thanthe filling aid transport 302, 312, the filled envelope E₁ is drawn offthe filling fingers 310, 320.

As far as FIGS. 10A to 12B are concerned, it is noted that these figureswere described on the basis of the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1,however, the same functionality may be achieved when using the fillingaid of the embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show yet another embodiment of the filling aid. InFIGS. 1, 9A, and 9B the filling aid was arranged on the lateral sides ofthe filling path, however, the invention is not limited to suchembodiments. Rather, as is shown in FIG. 13A, the filling aid may bearranged above the filling path. Again, the filling aid 300 comprisestwo conveyors 302, 304 arranged on the lateral sides of the fillingpath, i.e. on both sides of the envelopes E₁, E₂ transported along thefilling path. FIG. 13B shows further details of the filling aid conveyor302, which comprises the rollers 304, 306 around which the chain or belt308 extends to which the respective filling fingers 310 are mounted.Contrary to the embodiments described so far, the first and secondconveyors 302, 304 are not arranged in a plane that is parallel to theplane or level in which an envelope is transported, rather, theconveyors 302 and 304 are arranged perpendicular to the plane in whichthe envelopes travel. More specifically, the conveyor 302 is arrangedsuch that the belt 308 extends on a lower side adjacent to the fillingpath for moving the filling finger 310 in the envelope transportdirection F, whereas an upper part is distant from the plane in whichthe envelopes are transported. Still, as can be seen from FIG. 13A, theconveyors 302, 304 are provided on the opposite lateral sides of thefilling path to avoid interference with the other transports, e.g. theseparating device transport and the goods transport. The functionalityprovided by the filling aid 300 in accordance with the embodiment shownin FIG. 13 is the same as the functionality described above with regardto FIGS. 1 to 3 and 9A to 12B, except that instead of the lateralinsertion of the filling fingers into the envelope as described abovethe filling fingers 310, 320 are moved into the envelope from above.

As mentioned above, the filling fingers in accordance with the inventiveapproach are only for guiding the one or more goods to be inserted intoan envelope without causing a transport of the envelope. Therefore, itis not needed to set the distance of the opposing filling fingersdependent on the envelope, thereby avoiding the above mentioned problemswith regard to the tolerances of such envelopes. Rather, in accordancewith the inventive approach, the filling fingers are only adjusteddependent on the goods to be inserted. This is described in furtherdetail with regard to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 shows a first envelope E₁having a first width w₁, and FIG. 15 shows a second envelope E₂ having asecond width w₂, wherein the second width w₂ is greater than the firstwidth w₁. The goods to be inserted in FIGS. 14 and 15 are considered tobe the same and to have the same dimensions. As can be seen from acomparison of FIGS. 14 and 15, the filling fingers 310, 320 aremaintained at the same position (see the lines l₁ and l₂ in FIGS. 14 and15) despite the fact that the width w₁ of the first envelope E₁ issmaller than the distance between the two lines l₁ and l₂ while thewidth w₂ of the envelope E₂ corresponds to the distance between thelines l₁ and l₂. Thus, the position of the filling fingers 310, 320 onlydepends on the dimension of the goods G₁, but not on the dimensions ofthe envelope E₁ and E₂, thereby avoiding the problems with conventionalapproaches that used the filling fingers also for transporting theenvelope. For example, when considering FIG. 15, in a conventionalapproach it would have been a prerequisite to increase the distancebetween the filling fingers 310, 320 to allow for the transport of theenvelope E₂, however, the goods G₁ would not be properly guided in sucha situation, thereby increasing the probability of filling errors. Inaddition, the above mentioned problems regarding the tolerances of theenvelopes are avoided.

In the following, further embodiments of the separating device will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 16 to 22B. FIG. 16 shows an initialsituation of the filling process, where the envelope E₁ is alreadytransported by the envelope transport 100, however, the goods G₁ havenot yet reached the hinge line HL of the envelope E₁. The separatingclaw 402 has passed three quarters of the roller 406 of the separatingdevice transport. The claw 402 has a claw main body 402 a and a claw tip402 b. The claw tip 402 b protrudes in the transport direction F fromthe claw body 402 a. In accordance with embodiments, the claw tip 402 bmay be flexible for avoiding damaging of the envelope upon entering it.FIG. 17 shows that the envelope E₁, the goods G₁ and the claw 402 havebeen moved further in the transport direction F when compared to FIG.16. The claw 402 has completely passed the roller 406 and the claw tip402 b engages with the inside of the upper side of the envelope E₁.Also, the goods G₁ have been further moved towards the envelope openingnow held open by the claw tip 402 b. The goods G₁ have been moved acrossthe elevation 108 of the suction belt 102 thereby securely passing overthe flap F₁ of the envelope E₁ that is held on the suction portion 104 ₁of the suction belt 102. Thus, the goods G₁ are raised above the planein which the flap F₁ is arranged so that the goods G₁ can securely passthe flap without colliding with it.

In FIG. 18 the envelope E₁, the goods G₁ and the claw 402 have beenmoved further along the filling path. The separating claw 402 is movedtogether with the envelope E₁, advantageously at the same speed as theenvelope, thereby maintaining the upper side of the envelope E₁separated from the lower side during the transport of the envelope E₁.In FIG. 18 it is shown that the leading edge of the goods G₁ has reachedthe throat opening of the envelope E₁ and has been partially inserted.

FIG. 19 shows that the filling process is almost completed, i.e., thegoods G₁ reached the bottom or leading edge of the envelope E₁. Asdescribed above, the goods transport 200 moves the goods G₁ at avelocity that is higher than the velocity by which the envelope E₁ andalso by which the claw 402 of the separating device is moved so that,eventually, the pusher 202 a overtakes the claw 402 as shown in FIG. 19.Also the suction belt 102, more specifically the suction area 104 ₁, hasalmost reached the end of the vacuum chamber 114.

FIG. 20 shows that the filling process has been completed and transportof the filled envelope E₁ has been taken over by the goods transport200, more specifically the filled envelope E₁ is pushed out of thefilling path by the pushers 202 a of the goods transport 200 still in anengagement with the goods G₁. The envelope has been transported by meansof the suction belt to a position beyond the vacuum chamber so thattransport of the envelope E₁ by the transport 100 ceases and theenvelope is moved with the higher speed of the goods transport 200towards an output. This, at the same time, the envelope is drawn off theclaw 402 of the separating device as this device is operated at a speedthat is equal to or slower than the speed of the transport 100.

So far the separating device has been described as comprising theseparating claw, however, the invention is not limited to suchembodiments. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, instead of the claw asuction element 402′ may be provided that acts onto the outer surface ofthe envelope E so that it is maintained in its open position due to thesuction force.

In accordance with further embodiments the separating element 402, forexample the claw, may be configured such that upon moving around theroller 406, the separating element tip reaches a position in or belowthe level in which the envelope is transported so that the lower side ofthe envelope is pressed downwards which may be desired for more reliablyseparating the upper and lower sides of the envelope from each other.FIGS. 22A and 22B schematically depicts such an embodiment. As can beseen, the tip 402 b of the separating element 402 is structured toextend by a distance from the main body 402 a so that upon rotatingabout the roller 406, the tip 402 b is either in the transport level ora little bit below the transport level of the envelope E (see FIG. 22A)thereby pressing the envelope downwards for easier opening of theenvelope. Once the separating element 402 completed its turnaround theroller 406, its tip 402 b is raised above the level of the envelope Eagain, so that the lower side of the envelope and the upper side of theenvelope are separated from each other (see FIG. 22B).

Instead of structuring the separating element 402 in way as shown inFIGS. 22A and 22B it is also possible to provide a separating element402 that is mounted to the transport 408 in such a way that prior toentering into the envelope E it is moved to the first position below theenvelope transport level as shown in FIG. 22A and, after having beeninserted into the envelope, it is retracted to the second position abovethe plane in which the envelope is transported. For example, appropriatemeans may be provided for allowing such a functionality, for exampleactuators for vertically moving the elements between the two positions.Also respective guide elements may be arranged along the part ofmovement so that in the beginning the element “dives” to the firstposition and then returns to the second position.

In the following, embodiments of the flap holder will be described withreference to FIGS. 23 to 29. Embodiments will be described in which theinserter, in addition to the above-described elements, further comprisesa flap holder configured to cover an envelope flap during at least apart of the movement of the envelope and to maintain the envelope flapand one or more moving goods to be inserted into the envelope separatedfrom each other. FIG. 23 shows a top view of the inserter as is it isshown in FIG. 1. In addition, a flap holder 700 is provided, while theother elements correspond to those which have been described with regardto FIG. 1. The flap holder 700 comprises four parallel flap holderelements 702 a-702 d. The flap holder elements 702 a-702 d may be formedof sheet-metal springs or spring plates and extend along the transportdirection F. The flap holder 700 is arranged at the beginning of thefilling path, so that an envelope, for example envelope E₁ which ismoved into the filling path is arranged beneath the flap holder. As theenvelope is inserted into the filling path, the flap holder, initially,covers an envelope body and, during the further movement of theenvelope, covers the envelope flap. The one or more goods to be insertedare arranged above the flap holder 700, so that in a transfer region atthe beginning of the filling path, the flap holder 700 is arrangedbetween an envelope and the one or more goods.

The flap holder elements are arranged on both sides of the envelopetransport 100, more specifically, the flap holder elements 702 a and 702b are arranged in a portion between the envelope transport 100 and thefirst filling aid conveyor 302. Further, the flap holder elements 702 aand 702 b are arranged such that the pusher 202 a of the goods transport200 is at a position between the envelope transport 100 and the innerflap holder element 702 b. The flap holder elements 702 c and 702 d arearranged in a similar way on the other side of the envelope transport100, i.e. they are arranged between the second filling aid conveyor 312and the envelope transport 100, wherein the pusher 202 b of the goodstransport is at a position between the inner flap holder element 702 cand the envelope transport 100.

The functionality of flap holder 700 is such that upon entering thefilling path, the envelope and the goods are separated from each other.The envelope is transported by the envelope transport 100 along thetransport direction F and, in accordance with embodiments, the flap ofthe envelope is held on the transport belt, for example by a suctionforce applied. Thus, the center part of the envelope flap is held on thetransport, so that the goods can pass the flap in this portion withoutany collisions. However, in the portions between the envelope transport100 and the filling aid conveyors 302, 312 the flap, prior to insertingthe filling aids is not held, so that the flap may raise from thetransport level and a collision with the goods to be inserted may occur.Alternatively or in addition, the corners of the leading edge of thegoods may hang down also resulting in a collision. Therefore, at thestart of the filling process, the flap holder 700 is provided forcovering the flap in those regions where the flap is not held, so thatin the transfer area where the goods pass the flap, a separation betweenthe flap and the goods is ensured, thereby allowing for a reliablefilling process.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to the use of a suctionbelt as an envelope transport. In case another kind of transport is usedwhich does not provide for a holding of the flap, an additional flapholder element may be provided between the flap holder element 702 b and702 c.

In FIG. 23 an embodiment has been described comprising four or five flapholder elements. It is noted that the inventive approach is not limitedto such embodiments, rather, more than four or five flap holder elementsor less than four flap holder elements may be used. FIG. 24A shows anembodiment in accordance with which six flap holder elements 702 a-702 fare provided. The flap holder elements are arranged in a similar way asshown in FIG. 23, however, in addition between the outer flap holder 702a in FIG. 23 and the first filling aid conveyor 302 a first additionalflap holder element 702 e is arranged. Between the outer flap holderelement 702 d on the other side of the center line C of the envelope Eand the second filling aid conveyor 312 in FIG. 23 a further second flapholder element 702 f is arranged.

FIG. 24B shows another embodiment comprising only two flap holderelements 702 b and 702 c, flap holder elements 702 a and 702 d have beenomitted.

The number of flap holder elements may be selected dependent on theformat of the goods and envelopes to be processed by the inserter and/orby the characteristics of the goods/inserts. For example,goods/envelopes of the same format, but having a different stiffness mayneed the use of more or less flap holder elements. For example, thestiffer the material of the goods/envelopes, the less bending is to beexpected and the less flap holder elements are needed.

FIGS. 25A-25C show an embodiment using stationary flap holder elements.FIGS. 25A-25C show the different stages of one or more goodstransferring or passing an envelope flap while using a flap holder. InFIG. 25A an initial situation is shown in which an envelope E₁ has beenfed to the envelope transport. The surface 502 is shown in FIG. 25A thatmay be formed of a plate or one or more stripes and which extends up toa position X towards the beginning filling path (see the leading edge502 a). Goods on their way to the filling path move above the surface502, and an envelope is fed to the filling path from beneath passes theleading edge 502 a of the surface 502. The flap holder element 702 a hasa leading edge 704 which extends in the transport direction F beyond theposition X. As the envelope E₁ is moved into the inserting path, theleading edge 704 contacts the envelope body 706. The goods G₁ to beinserted into the envelope E₁ arrive and a leading edge 708 of the goodsG₁ is arranged on a trailing edge 710 of the flap holder element 702 a.Thus, in FIG. 25A an edge of the Flap F1 has already reached theposition X while the goods did not yet reach this position. Since thegoods and the envelope are continuously moved, this situation results ina generation of a gap g between the edge of the flap and the leadingedge of the goods, as is shown in FIG. 25B. This gap is more likely tooccur the shorter the flap is. To avoid collisions between the goods andthe flap, the flap holder is provided which is arranged such that itspans the gap and, thereby maintains the goods and the envelopeseparated. In FIG. 25B the envelope E₁ and the goods G₁ have been movedfurther and, for example, by means of an air nozzle 500 the envelope E₁has been opened so that the envelope's upper side 712 is separated fromthe envelope's lower side 714, to which the flap F₁ is attached. Theflap holder element 702 a may be formed from a sheet-metal spring or aspring loaded plastic element which is biased in a direction of theenvelope E₁, however, the flap holder element 702 a is dimensioned suchthat upon opening the envelope throat 716 the leading edge 704 of theflap holder element 702 a is also raised, i.e. the flap holder elements702 a allows the opening of the envelope E₁. In FIG. 25C the envelope E₁and the goods G₁ have been moved further down the transport direction Fso that due to the further movement the leading edge 704 of thestationary or fixed flap holder element 702 a is no longer in contactwith the upper side 712 of the envelope body, but is only in contactwith the flap F₁. Due to the resilient nature of the flap holder element702 a it deflects downward onto the flap F₁ after leaving the upper side712. The goods G₁ already reached the envelope throat 716 and the flapholder element 702 a is arranged between the flap F₁ and the goods G₁,thereby allowing for a secure transfer of the goods G₁ across the flapF₁ without any collisions between the goods G₁ and the flap F₁ in thetransfer area depicted in FIG. 25.

FIGS. 26A-26C describe another embodiment of the flap holders which maybe provided movable. To be more specific, the flap holders may be movedat least partially along the transport direction F together with thegoods and the envelope to ensure that during this movement the envelopeflap is contacted by the flap holder and that the flap holder separatesthe flap and the goods. FIG. 26A shows an initial situation similar toFIG. 25A where an envelope E₁ has been received in the filling path andthe goods G₁ arrive at the filling path. The flap holder element 702 ais movable along the transport direction F as is shown by the arrow 718.In FIG. 26A a first position of the flap holder element 702 a is shownin which the leading edge 704 is in contact with F₁ of the envelope E₁that has been inserted into the filling path. The goods G₁ which arriveat the filling path are in contact with the flap holder element 702 athat is arranged between the goods G₁ and the flap F₁. In FIG. 26B theenvelope E₁ and the goods G₁ have been moved further down the fillingpath. Also, the flap holder element 702 a, which is movable, has beenmoved further down in the filling direction so that the contact of theleading edge 704 and the flap F₁ is maintained during the movement fromthe position shown in FIG. 26A and the position shown in FIG. 26B. Theleading edge of the goods G₁ has reached the leading edge 704 of theflap holder element which separates the goods G₁ from the flap F₁. InFIG. 26B the leading edge of the goods G₁ has already passed thetrailing edge of the flap F₁ so that the goods G₁ can now pass the flapF₁ without any collisions and can be securely and reliably inserted intothe envelope E₁, which has been opened by appropriate means, forexample, by blow air provided by nozzles. In FIG. 26C the goods G₁ andthe envelope E₁ have been moved further along the transport direction F.Since the leading edge of the goods G₁ has already passed securely thetrailing edge of the flap F₁, the flap holder element 702 a is retractedfrom the second position shown in FIG. 26B back towards the firstposition shown in FIG. 26A as is schematically shown by the arrow 720.

So far, stripe-shaped flap holders have been described. The invention isnot limited to such embodiments, rather, the flap holders may have anysuitable shape. FIGS. 27A and 27B show a flap holder in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention. The flap holder elements 702 g and702 h are provided which have an rectangular or an elliptical shape andwhich can be rotated between a first position shown in FIG. 27A and asecond position shown in FIG. 27B. In the first position the short axisof the plates 702 g, 702 h extends substantially along the transportdirection, and the long axis of the plates 702 g, 702 h extendssubstantially perpendicular to the transport direction. In this positionthe flap F of the envelope is not covered, i.e., there will be a gapbetween the goods and the envelope edge. Upon rotating the plates 702 g,702 h into then position shown in FIG. 27B the short axis of the plates702 g, 702 h extends substantially perpendicular to the transportdirection, and the long axis of the plates 702 g, 702 h extendssubstantially along the transport direction so that the leading edges ofthe plates 702 g, 702 h cover the flap.

In the embodiments depicted so far, flap holder elements were describedwhich extended by the same distance across the envelope and/or theenvelope flap. However, the invention is not limited to suchembodiments, rather, dependent on the characteristics of the envelopeopening some flap holder elements may extend further onto the envelopeas others. Such an embodiment is now described with regard to FIG. 28.The flap holder in the embodiment of FIG. 28 comprises six flap holderelements of which only flap holder elements 702 a, 702 b and 702 e (seefor example FIG. 24A) are shown. The envelope E₁ has an opening 716being deeper at the center of the envelope E₁ and decreasing towards theouter edges of the envelopes. The flap holder elements 702 a, 702 b and702 e are provided such that the respective leading edges of the flapholder elements are arranged at different end positions along thetransport direction F, for example, the larger the opening 716 is, thefurther the flap holder elements extend onto the envelope E₁.

To allow for the handling of different kinds of envelopes, the flapholder elements may be arranged adjustable, as is indicated by therespective arrows shown in FIG. 28. For example, in case of a stationaryflap holder, the respective flap holder elements may be provided with orconnected to drives which allow for the adjustment of the leading edgesof the flap holder elements dependent on the characteristics of theenvelope, for example, the way it is shown in FIG. 28, advantageouslyprior to the start of an inserting job. In case of movable flap holderelements as described with regard to FIGS. 26A-26C, the drive or motorprovided for moving the flap holder elements between the first andsecond positions may be controlled such that at the second positions oneflap holder element is positioned further down the transport direction Fthan other flap holder elements.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 29,the flap holder may comprise flap holder elements 702 b, 702 c which cantravel together with the envelope along the filling path, like thefilling fingers of the filling aid. A circulating conveyor 730 isprovided which comprises two belts 732 a, 732 b to which the flap holderelements 702 b, 702 c are mounted so that after completing the fillingprocess and removing the envelope from the filling path, the flap holderelements 702 b, 702 c can be returned to the starting position.Advantageously, along the circulating conveyor a plurality of flapholder elements are provided for allowing the handling of one or moreenvelopes along the filling path.

Further, although the flap holder elements are shown to be spaced at thesame intervals in the lateral direction (lateral to the transportdirection F), it is noted that the intervals may be different, e.g.dependent on the characteristics of the goods and/or envelopes.

In the following, further embodiments of the invention will bedescribed. More specifically, in the embodiments described so far thefilled envelope is transported by the pushers of the goods transport,however, the present invention is not limited to such an implementation.For example, when the goods to be inserted comprise a low number ofelements, e.g. only one or two sheets, or when the goods are not stiffor not rigid, a reliable transport of the envelope by the goodstransport may not be possible or may be difficult (e.g. need a reducedspeed which, in turn, reduces the throughput). Goods may be deformed ordamaged by the pusher. Further, the change in the transport speed of theenvelope due to the goods transport taking over transport of the filledenvelope may be critical because the filled envelope may be displaced(this may also happen when filling sufficiently stiff or rigid goodsinto the envelope). To avoid such problems, embodiments of the inventioncomprise a further envelope transport causing the transport of thefilled envelope.

FIGS. 30A and 30B show an embodiment comprising such an additionalenvelope transport, wherein FIG. 30A is a schematic top view, and FIG.30B is a sectional view taken along line b-b′. In FIG. 30 an insertersimilar to the one of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown. Elements of the inserteralready described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2 have associatedtherewith the same reference signs as used in FIGS. 1 and 2 and will notbe described again. In addition to the envelope transport 100 used fortransporting the envelope while inserting the goods, an additionalenvelope transport 800 is provided. The additional envelope transport800 is arranged parallel and partially overlapping with the transport100. The additional envelope transport 800 is arranged between thetransport 100 and the first conveyor 302 of the filling aid 300. Theadditional envelope transport 800 comprises a suction belt 802 havingfirst portions 804 ₁ and 804 ₂ where the suction belt 802 is providedwith openings so that a suction force can be applied by a vacuummechanism provided beneath the suction belt 802 to an object (e.g. afilled envelope) arranged on the suction belt 802. Further, the suctionbelt 802 comprises second portions 806 ₁, 806 ₂, 806 ₃ between the firstportions 804 ₁ and 804 ₂ where no holes are provided so that in thispart of the suction belt no suction force is applied to an objectarranged thereon. Further, in FIG. 30A portions 807 a of the additionalenvelope transport 800 are hatched and portion 807 b is not hatched. Inportions 807 a of the transport 800 no vacuum force is applied towardsthe belt 802, and in portion 807 b of the transport 800 a vacuum forceis applied towards the belt 802. Thus, when the first portions 804 ₁ and804 ₂ of the belt 802 pass portion 807 b a suction force is applied tothe envelope on the belt 802 so that the envelope is transported by theadditional envelope transport 800.

As can be seen from FIG. 30B, the additional envelope transport 900comprises a first, driven roller 910 and a second roller 812 aroundwhich the suction belt 802 extends. The envelope transport 800 furthercomprises a vacuum chamber 814 that is arranged in portion 807 b of thetransport 800 and extends partly between the rollers 810 and 812 forapplying the suction force to the sections 804 of the suction belt asthe respective sections 804 are moved across the vacuum chamber 814. Thevacuum chamber 814 extends from the roller 812 along the conveyingdirection F towards the roller 810, however, the vacuum chambers 114 and814 of the transports 100 and 800 do not overlap.

Once the envelope is filled it will no longer be transported by thetransport 100. At this time, the filled envelope reached a positionwhere it will be transported by the additional transport 800 with avelocity equal to or faster than the velocity of the goods transport.Thus, the filled envelope will be transported by the additionaltransport 800 thereby avoiding the above mentioned problems whentransporting the filled envelope by the pushers of the goods transport.By means of the additional envelope transport 800 and the envelopetransport 100 along the filling path a continuous transport or conveyerfor the envelope is provided for reliably transporting the filledenvelope to the output transport or the inserter output. The change inthe transport speed of the envelope is not a problem because it occursby transporting the filled envelope by the additional envelope transport800, i.e. the envelope—during the further transport—is held by thetransport elements of the additional envelope transport 800. This avoidsundesired movements of the envelope or the like and thus allows for areliable transport of the filled envelope towards the inserter output.

It is noted that in accordance with embodiments the inserter may becontrolled such that dependent on the goods to be filled into anenvelope the transport of the filled envelope may be caused by the goodstransport 200 or by the additional envelope transport 800. For example,when it is determined that thin goods are to be filled into an envelopethe additional envelope transport 800 may be activated. In case ofinserts being sufficient rigid the additional envelope transport 800 maybe deactivated so that the filled envelope is transported by the goodstransport 200.

The additional envelope transport 800 may transport the filled envelopewith a velocity higher than the transport 100 and higher than a velocityof the filling aid 300 so that the filled envelope will be removed fromthe filling fingers (see envelope E₃).

In the embodiment of FIGS. 30A and 30B the additional envelope transport800 is provided for transporting the filled envelope to an outputtransport 506 for moving a filled envelope towards an output of theinserter as is for example shown in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, theadditional envelope transport 800 may extend further in the transportdirection to the output of the inserter (where the filled envelope istransferred to a subsequent station like a metering device, a sorteretc.). In this case, the additional envelope transport 800 also formsthe output transport 506 of the inserter.

FIG. 31 shows another embodiment of the additional envelope transport800. In this embodiment, the additional envelope transport 800 isarranged between the transport 100 and the second conveyor 312 of thefilling aid 300. Otherwise, the embodiment of FIG. 31 corresponds to theone of FIGS. 30A and 30B.

FIG. 32 shows yet another embodiment of the additional envelopetransport 800. In this embodiment, the additional envelope transport 800comprises a first suction belt 802 a arranged between the transport 100and the first conveyor 312 of the filling aid 300 and a second suctionbelt 802 b arranged between the transport 100 and the second conveyor312 of the filling aid 300. The belt 802 a corresponds to the one ofFIGS. 30A and 30B, and the belt 802 b corresponds to the one of FIG. 31.Using two belts may be advantageous to avoid a rotational movement ofthe filled envelope and to maintain its orientation during transport.

Instead of the above described suction transport comprising the suctionbelt also other transports for realizing the additional envelopetransport are possible, e.g. a belt transport or one or more suctionrollers.

In the following, further embodiments of the filling aid will bedescribed. More specifically, in the embodiments described so far thefilling aid comprises the conveyors for moving the filling fingers atleast partly along the filling path together with the envelope. However,the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It issufficient to provide the filling fingers such that they are presentuntil the goods have passed the hinge line of the envelope. FIG. 33shows a schematic representation of an alternative embodiment forrealizing the filling fingers. As can be seen, no conveyor is provided,rather, the filling fingers 310, 320 are arrange movable (back andforth) along the direction indicated by the arrow. When the envelope E₁is supplied to the filling path, the filling fingers 310, 320 are in arest or standby position which may be upstream of the filling pathentrance. Once the envelope was supplied to the filling path the fillingfingers 310, 320 are moved in the transport direction to be moved atleast partly into the envelope. Once the goods G₁ passed the hinge lineof the envelope E₁ the filling fingers 310, 320 may be retraced to theirstandby position until a new envelope has been supplied. As can be seenfrom FIG. 33, no filling fingers are in the envelope E₂ during thefurther filling process. The standby position of the filling fingers310, 320 may be different from the above mentioned position. Forexample, the standby position may be at the sides of the filling path,and the filling fingers 310, 320 may be arranged rotatable to be movedfrom the standby position into the filling path and into the envelopeand back into the standby position. Alternatively, the standby positionof the filling fingers 310, 320 may be above or below the filling path.

Further, it is noted that embodiments may be provided that allow thehandling only one envelope at a time, i.e., only one envelope isarranged along the filling path. In such an embodiment the envelopetransport may extend all the way through the filling path to the outputtransport or the inserter output so that the unfilled and the filledenvelope is transported by the same transport. The goods transport willoperate at a higher velocity than the envelope transport until theenvelope is filled. After filling is complete the goods transport may bedecelerated (alternatively the envelope transport may be accelerated)for releasing the goods from the goods transport.

In the embodiments described so far the goods are transported fasterthan the envelope so that the goods will be filled into the openedenvelope. The present invention is not limited to such embodiments. Inaccordance with another embodiment the envelope may be transportedfaster than the goods so that the goods will be filled into theenvelope. For example, when considering an inserter as shown in FIG. 1and FIG. 2, the transport elements are modified to allow for thetransport of the envelope and the goods from the right to the left (i.e.the transport direction F is opposite to the one shown in FIG. 2). Theenvelope is opened and when starting to overtake the “slower” goods theenvelope is moved over the goods (i.e. the goods are received inside theenvelope).

As can be seen from the embodiments described above, in accordance withthe inventive approach an apparatus for inserting one or more goods intoa moveable envelope is described. However, while the embodiments havebeen described on the basis of goods and envelopes comprising flaps, itis noted that the invention is not limited to such embodiments. Rather,the inventive approach is applicable to any kind of cover that isprovided for receiving one or more goods therein. The cover and thegoods are both moved during the inserting process and the filling aid isprovided in a way as described above. In accordance with embodiments,the cover conveyor is arranged opposite to the goods conveyor andengages the cover at at least two locations or along a position of thecover. For example instead of the number of openings in the suctionbelt, one or more slits extending in the longitudinal direction of thebelt may be provided. The at least two locations may be arrangedconsecutively along the cover transport direction or lateral to thecover transport direction. The elongated position may also be along thetransport direction or lateral thereto. Further, in accordance withembodiments the respective drives of the different conveyors/transportsare independent of each other so that each of the drives may be drivenusing individual driving and velocity curves. Instead of the suctionbelt and the gripper transport also conveyor using a pusher or a slidermay also be used. While it has been mentioned above that the goodstransport operates at a speed equal to or less than the speed of thecover transport, it is noted that the filling aid conveyors may beoperated at a velocity that is independent of the velocity of thetransport.

Although some aspects have been described in the context of anapparatus, it is clear that these aspects also represent a descriptionof the corresponding method, where a block or device corresponds to amethod step or a feature of a method step. Analogously, aspectsdescribed in the context of a method step also represent a descriptionof a corresponding block or item or feature of a correspondingapparatus.

The above described embodiments are merely illustrative for theprinciples of the present invention. It is understood that modificationsand variations of the arrangements and the details described herein willbe apparent to others skilled in the art. It is the intent, therefore,to be limited only by the scope of the impending patent claims and notby the specific details presented by way of description and explanationof the embodiments herein.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall withinthe scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are manyalternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of thepresent invention. It is therefore intended that the following appendedclaims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutationsand equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. An apparatus for inserting one or more goods into a moving cover,comprising: a cover transport; and at least one movable flap holderconfigured to cover a flap of the cover and to maintain the flap of thecover and the one or more movable goods to be inserted into the coverseparated during at least a part of the movement of the cover, whereinthe flap holder comprises at least one element to separate the flap ofthe cover and the one or more movable goods while a leading edge of theone or more goods passes the edge of the flap of the cover.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, comprising: a device for opening the cover; and atleast one movable filling aid and at least one separation deviceconfigured to be moved into the cover and to engage with the cover,respectively.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flap holder isnot movable in the cover transport direction, the flap holder therebyinitially covering a cover body of a cover passing the flap holder. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein prior to filling the one or more goodsthe flap holder is adjusted dependent on a flap dimension in the covertransport direction.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flapholder is arranged movably so as to move together with the cover.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the flap holder is configured to contactthe cover body or on the inside of the flap during at least a part ofthe movement of the cover.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flapholder comprises a forward end in the cover transport direction which isbiased towards the flap.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flapholder comprises a sheet-metal spring or a spring plate.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cover opening is lateral to the commontransport direction.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the covercomprises an envelope.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein forinserting one or more goods into a cover the filling path is configuredto move the one or more goods with a higher velocity than the cover. 12.An apparatus for inserting one or more goods into a moving cover,comprising: a cover transport; and at least one movable flap holderconfigured to cover a flap of the cover and to maintain the flap of thecover and the one or more movable goods to be inserted into the coverseparated during at least a part of the movement of the cover, whereinthe flap holder comprises at least one element to separate the flap ofthe cover and the one or more movable goods while a leading edge of theone or more goods passes the edge of the flap of the cover, wherein theflap holder is movable partially between a first position and a secondposition, the second position being further downstream along the commontransport direction than the first position, wherein prior to fillingthe one or more goods into the cover the flap holder is configured to bemoved from the first position to the second position thereby coveringthe flap of the cover, and wherein the flap holder is configured to bemoved back to the first position after at least a part of the one ormore goods has passed the flap of the cover.
 13. The apparatus of claim12, wherein the apparatus further comprises a drive configured to moveor rotate the flap holder between the first position and the secondposition.
 14. A method for inserting one or more goods into a movingcover, comprising: moving the cover and the one or more goods in acommon transport direction; opening the cover; during at least a part ofthe movement of the cover, covering a flap of the cover and forseparating the flap of the cover and the one or more moving goods to beinserted into the cover from each other; and inserting the one or moregoods into the moving cover, wherein the flap of the cover and the oneor more moving goods are separated while a leading edge of the one ormore goods passes the edge of the flap of the cover.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the cover is opened prior to the leading edge of theone or more goods reaching the flap of the cover.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the cover is opened while a flap holder covers a coverbody.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein prior to filling the one ormore goods into the cover a flap holder is moved from a first positionto a second position to cover the flap of the cover, and wherein theflap holder is moved back to the first position after at least a part ofthe one or more goods has passed the flap of the cover.